Elliot was pouting the whole day. His class was Creator, meaning he didn't have any magical skill. And he didn't have any affinity too.
"What a bust," he said as he slowly crawled towards a group of Midnight Pheasants.
He was still upset because The Manual chose his class for him. Fighter was the best suit for someone without affinity like him but an unfamiliar class was given to him without his permission.
Spotting the magnificent birds, his eyes narrowed when he saw an unfamiliar crest that was in the beast. An unknown green symbol was glowing in the necks of the birds.
"What is that?" Elliot whispered and readied his sword.
His stats were improved after leveling up. He can now dash faster, killing more pheasants on the way.
With a swift dash and rapid swings of his swords, two pheasants got their heads cut in an instant. It was followed by three more and another two that he was chasing after.
"My body's very light," Elliot said and bounced to feel the lightness of his body. He jumped a couple of times to feel that his body was light as a feather. "I could get used to this."
His forehead creased after seeing that the green symbol from the Midnight Pheasant's necks was gone. Elliot shrugged the thoughts away, thinking it was just another one of those unlocked features that he could see but doesn't gain.
The Manual was a big tease, after all.
'Feature Unlock'
[ Quests ]
"Quests?"
'Opening Quests'
[ QUESTS ]
[ Daily Quest ]
[ The Farmer's Dilemma ]
[ A Lion?!?! ]
Elliot was amused after seeing the quests on his Console. It was like he was at a guild house, choosing a quest in the bulletin board.
"Open Daily Quest."
[ Daily Quest
Cook X1 (unfinished)
Craft X1 (unfinished)
ForgeX1 (unfinished)
Brew X1/4 (unfinished) ]
Brewing was a new feature. Elliot rechecked the Midnight Pheasant eye he got before and smirked after seeing the description.
[[ Midnight Pheasant Eye ]]
// Used for brewing.
So that's what you do. He said and shook his head.
Bringing the carcasses of the birds he hunted, he got inside his home and cooked the Midnight Pheasants. He also discovered that the system had been updated.
Before, everything was 'crafted', craft food, craft item, craft weapon. Now, it was distinct. Crafting food was now 'cooking', crafting items was now just 'craft', and crafting weapon was now 'forge'.
Brewing was still new to him, but he thought it would have to do something with potions and boosts since that's what brewing meant. And he would only know if he checks the book.
While Cooking the Midnight Pheasant Porridge, he examined the book and chuckled when it got thicker. This book kept on surprising him that something like this felt normal.
'A new section was unlocked.'
'Brewing will now be available.'
'Congratulations, April.'
"I'm not April!" Elliot angrily said and opened the book. He sighed and repeated, "I'm not April."
And what the system said was true, there was another section called Brewing. It was full of potions that boost attributes or buffs the user. There were also healing potions that may come in handy.
Except for the title, the other sections didn't change though. Elliot was thinking that the book is somehow connected to the Adventurer System.
"I wonder if I could upload The Manual to the system," Elliot asked himself when a message popped up.
'Feature unavailable yet.'
His lips curled into a smirk and he continued what he was doing before the book caught his attention. If he was going to level up, he was going to do it fast.
'Level Up'
'You are now Level 15.'
A day later, Elliot was hunting the forest for ingredients his recipes needed. After a whole day's worth of hunting, he finally reached Level 15. Meaning, he can enter the Crimson Palace.
Although the XP he needed to level up was getting bigger as his level increased, more recipes that produce bigger XP was also available. He never thought that he could take down a Might Boar by himself.
His sword broke when it came in contact with the Might Boar's tusk so he needed a new one. When he was about to go to Francoise's shop, he remembered he could Forge a sword and complete a quest so he could see what the reward was.
He was carrying the now heavy book around and he checked if there was a sword that would fit him. Since he still didn't know any skill yet, it was better to improve his physical strength first.
[[ Might Boar Shortsword ]]
Elliot looked at the dead boar and the book.
"Well if it isn't my luck."
Recipe:
Might Boar Tusk X2
Leather Strap X1
Fine Weapon Gem X1
His grin faded after seeing that he needed a WG. Even Common-quality WGs were rare. And to find a Fine Weapon Gem, it's time-consuming.
That was until he remembered that he saw a Weapon Gem recipe on the book. Flipping the pages, he found himself at the Brewing section. It was mentioned that a serum can turn a specific kind of stone into a WG.
[[ Fine Weapon Gem ]]
Recipe:
Fine Weapon Gem Essence X1
Green River Pebble X1
River pebbles were not as special as Elliot remembered. River pebbles were literally normal pebbles on a river. They have their own colors and it seemed like each WG recipe a specific color of a pebble.
[[ Fine Weapon Gem Essence ]]
Midnight Pheasant Eye X3
Slime Mucus X1
Blood of Adventurer Level 10-24 X1
"Ew," was Elliot's response after seeing the last recipe. He was wondering how much blood the recipe needs but shook the thought away and hunted slimes.
Placing a cloth on the ground, Elliot brought out the Midnight Pheasant Eyeballs and the small container of slime he had. With the use of a shard from his broken blade, he slashed his hand.
The eyeballs and the smile pulled themselves together as well as the blood from Elliot's hand. Looking at it, the blood the recipe needed wasn't much. It was only 5 drops or so.
As usual, when the ingredients came in contact, they glowed and combined, forming a flask. After the glow disappeared, a glimmering green liquid sat inside the glass flask.
'Fine Weapon Gem Essence brewed.'
Heading towards the river, Elliot heard a growl from behind him. He turned around and saw a large bear. It was the size of a small house and its aura was pulsating with anger.
He was going to draw his sword but remembered that it was shattered by the Might Boar.
"Holy bear."